Health minister Baroness Jay receives advice from nurse Joanne Wersell (centre, wearing headset) and staff from Lancashire Ambulance Service trust.

Baroness Jay was in Preston on Monday for the formal launch of one of three pilots for NHS Direct, the telephone advice line staffed by nurses that will cover the country by 2000.

John Calderbank, trust assistant chief executive, said the pilot had taken 800 calls in its first three weeks. Most calls were about childhood ailments or minor accidents and 95 per cent had been dealt with by nurses. Twelve calls had been treated as emergencies requiring the dispatch of an ambulance.